


Turning from the Sun

by FluffytehMuffin



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cannon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Modern girl in Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 00:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8945587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FluffytehMuffin/pseuds/FluffytehMuffin
Summary: There are probably fifty million different concepts on life after death. Harper’s family was god fearing. Good ole Southern Baptists straight out of Savannah, Georgia. Harper not so much. She’d never been able to buy into it all. To be quite honest, she’d expected nothing after all was said and done. No blaring trumpets. No fluffy white clouds with people lounging on them. No heat and screaming agony. Nada. She expected darkness and oblivion.What she got was fiction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome! This is a work I originally posted on Fanfiction.net. There are some changes that I am making. For example the work will no long be in first person. I'm considering this the better edited version.

**_See how the game of life is playing all of us for fools_ **

**_Dancing a string around us, making all these silly rules_ **

**_See how he looks down on us like we're acting out a show_ **

**_Throw the dice and let's see which head will roll..._ **

* * *

 

“Where the fuck is our evac.” her voice was half shriek half growl. Right now she was feeling a little more than snappy, but hell how else was she supposed to feel with bullets flying past her head? Peachy keen? She said a small prayer to whatever God was willing to listen as she crouched behind a smoking humvee. A short prayer  and no answer.  No divine intervention. Instead she heard the whistle of an RPG. Dirt and metal went flying and her ears rang. Instinct kicked in and she flung herself over the bloodied body of one of her team mates.

  
  


Fucking IEDs. This was something she expected from Afghanistan or Kuwait. One tour in the Middle East had her petrified of deserts. Hell, she’d even refused to go to the beach when she’d been on leave. Sand was fucking evil. So, she’d all but jumped for joy when her platoon had been sent to Russia. According to her superiors Russia was nice and calm. They’d yet to side with anyone. Go figure, the President of said ‘calm’ country signed with China a week after her boots hit the dirt. Russia went from calm to far worse than the desert. 

 

"Looks like we're pretty screwed, eh Harper?" a raspy cough and she flashed a strained grin. Her platoon of twenty was scattered to the wind. Lieutenant Brike was dead. Actually, she mentally corrected herself, he was in pieces at least twenty feet to her left. Details details. Then there was her squad leader. She had no idea where that fucker was. His vehicle had gone towards the tree line, and what was left of their caravan had been pinned down for the past hour in a firefight.

 

Yeah, they were pretty screwed.

 

“Just keep those pretty blue eyes open, Red.” She tore open a pack of gauze with her teeth. His wound was bad, but she had to stop the bleeding. With a hole the size of her fist in his stomach a small voice in the back of her head said it was a waste of time and resources. Miracles could happen right? Maybe if he had something to fight for. “You have that recital you gotta get back for, right? What was is, The Nutcracker?”

 

Where was the fucking evac.

 

"Harps, you and I both know how this goes down. You stay and you die right along with me." he was right of course, but she was emotional, and her likelihood of surviving was pretty low anyway. The reason she never made it to command. The reason she was a medic. Granted, emotions seemed to screw her over there as well, but at least she couldn't get in trouble for it.

 

"No man left behind, Red! That’s my ninja way." that earned her a laugh and another rattled cough. Shit, time was just about up. He snapped his tags off his neck and pushed them into her hand. She didn't want to leave him, but he was right, she had to. If there was any hope of her getting out of here she had to get to the tree line where the rest of my squad hopefully was. If they weren't already dead. That was a long run, and she was scared she wouldn't make it to the finish line.

 

"We're not the Marines and you’re not a ninja, dumb ass. Go!" he pushed her arm. S took a deep breath to still her emotions. Red had been the oldest of the group, and she the youngest. He’d always given her hell for her childish interests. She was going to miss him. They stared for a moment as she psyched herself up.

 

"See you on the other side, Red." she place a kiss on his forehead before turning tail and running. She literally ran for her life towards those trees heavy with snow. Bullets whizzed past her, and she wondered if the Russians were even bothering to aim.

 

Get to the trees. Just get to the trees. She’d make it, trudge to the nearest evac zone, and be on her way home. She should have just went to med school. No, she had to go and prove to her family that dorky little Harper could follow tradition and serve her country. She just wanted to be home. She wanted to sit in her bed watch anime and play an MMO.

 

"Shit!" a bullet to the leg sent her tumbling forward head over heels. Adrenaline's a hell of a drug.. She popped up onto her feet immediately and kept on charging. There was the sensation of being stabbed for the briefest moment before her leg just went numb. Behind her a trail of red streaked the snow. The hole must be bigger than she thought. Maybe she’d get sent home after this wound.

 

Maybe she’d end up in a gulag

 

Then she heard it. The loud pop of a sniper rifle in the distance. While she didn't hear the bullet whistling her direction she knew damn well what was about to happen. Eyes slid shut. Please miss. A breath, and then impact with the back of her skull.

 

Lights out

 

Game over.

* * *

 

There are probably fifty million different concepts on life after death. Harper’s family was god fearing. Good ole Southern Baptists straight out of Savannah, Georgia. Harper not so much. She’d never been able to buy into it all. To be quite honest, she’d expected nothing after all was said and done. No blaring trumpets. No fluffy white clouds with people lounging on them. No heat and screaming agony. Nada. She expected darkness and oblivion.

 

Reason number one she had an issue with religion, it was filled with contradiction. No matter which one you looked at. Numero two, let's pretend this being of supreme power was benevolent and all loving. Humans couldn't get along in this life. Why the hell would they get along in the next. Deity of choice would probably go crazy after a while. Then she had to consider the amount of destruction humans were capable of. These greater beings either had a sick sense of humor, or got off on watching their creations kill each other off.

 

Moving right along.

 

Was She right?

 

Hell no, she wasn't.

 

Death,apparently, was a dark warm box. Maddeningly cramped and constantly moving. Completely different from the life she’d just departed from. At first, she preferred it to the cold unforgiving Russian landscape, but after a while she got bored. She found herself kicking and wriggling to free herself of the infernal box. A god of any sort would have been a welcome sight. This purgatory had given her far too much alone time.

 

Then it happened.

 

A rush burst around her that she could only equate to laying in the middle of a running stream. her box shrunk in around her and suddenly she was being pushed gently. What ever was happening was slow moving. As she tried to gasp for breath her mouth was flooded with liquid. Then she was pulled more forcefully. A couple of yanks and the warmth disappeared and cold shocked her into... crying?

 

No, not just crying. Full on wailing.

 

Light filled her vision replacing the darkness.Vaguely she could see shadowed figures moving over above her. Had she been captured? Why was everything so big? Soft humming noises made the air seem to vibrate. Oddly enough she found it comforting. Something soft and warm was wrapped around her entire body, and despite having her limbs pinned she felt her fear start melting away. Surely the Russians would be torturing her instead of making her comfortable.

 

She blinked furiously, still trying to make sense of what she was seeing, but the fogginess refused to rise. Gravity shifted and she was moved. No, she was literally handed to another person. A rather pleasant smell washed over her as a soft feminine voice filled the air. She was nice. Harper decided she liked her alot. Her voice was calming. Instinct kicked in and she leaned into the warm protective woman. A deeper voice joined in and they seemed like they were conversing. Their voices were muffled and garbled. Comforting compared to the dark silence she'd been sitting in.

 

She didn't really care. She was content. People were around her again. She wasn't alone and she was safe.

 

So she fell asleep.

* * *

 

From that point on everything was a little disorienting. Her eyes slowly started to get better. She went from hazy shadow figures to actually being able to make out forms of things. Specifically the giants that took care of her. She worried for a time that she'd been reduced to a vegetable due to some head trauma. She had been shot in the head right? Pretty bad-ass to survive, but having brain damage was far more infuriating. Then she learned to control the sounds she made. That was progress right? Any time she felt hungry she'd cry and someone would swoop in and make the terrible emptiness disappear. 

 

Then it dawned on her. They weren't giants.

 

She was a freaking baby.

 

Boy did she scream and howl when she realized this fun little fact. Don't get misunderstand, she was happy that she wasn't all but brain dead, but really? A baby? She had to go through puberty again? Her parents, bless them, took her frustration in stride. They'd talk to her and her mother would sing often. Yes, she was a sucker for it and it helped. What was even worse, she had no flipping idea what either of them were saying, but it was comforting that she at least had another loving family.

 

Eventually she picked up on some of the words. Never again would she doubt the power of the human mind. Information stuck inside her head. Like she was some kind of sponge. 'Okaa-san' was what the woman was determined to be called. 'Otou-sama' was apparently her father. Easy enough. From what she could tell she was an only child. No one other then her parents ever came to play with her. So no other names worth learning.

 

That sucked. she was going to miss having five siblings.

 

Nothing to be done about it. She just had to accept the fact that she'd been part of some kind of botched reincarnation system. These were her parents, and no matter how much she disliked it, she was no longer Harper Lee. She was Yuriko, or more affectionately Yuri-chan.

* * *

 

To say her parents spoiled her was an understatement, and she loved every moment. Before she could realize what was happening her past started to fade away. She benefited from the knowledge she already had, but her time in the United Ally Army became nothing more than nightmares that kept her up at night. Gone was the medic Harper. Instead bright little Yuri-chan took her place. This new life wasn’t bad at all. She was able to use her bored twenty three year old mind to accelerate her mental growth. As soon as her legs could handle it she was up toddling about. She’d been 7 months old.  

 

Then came talking.

 

Her first words had her parents squabbling.

 

They even made bets.

 

After a few days of consideration she decided to say ‘Mama’ first. Okaa-san had always seemed to formal, but regardless she was smug as hell about it. A bit unfair, but she was her mother after all. Not that her father had long to wait. Granted, she’d been a bit of a brat about it. He’d come home looking particularly worn out. Mama had been busy cooking so she had him all to herself. Like the adorble child she was, Yuri toddle over to him. He had leaned forward on the couch offering his hands when she motioned that she wanted to be picked up. There was a small smile on his face.

 

When she patted his cheeks with her chubby hands and said ‘Otou-san’ his eyes went wide. Her mouth had been clumsy around the sounds, but it came out well enough. She’d decided he deserved the more formal title. She had a feeling deep down her was going to be the more strict of her parents

  
  


He immediately took her over to Mama and started bragging. Mama watched skeptically as he tried to get her to say it again. Yuri giggled like and an idiot. For a good twenty minutes he sat with her at the table trying so hard to get her to say the word again. Being a bit of a jerk she played like it was a game. She cooed and waved her hands around. She wanted to make their memories funny. When she finally said the word he almost fell out of his chair.

  
  


Her Otou-san became a lot more involved after that. When he came home they would play little hand games. Even when she knew he was dead tired. He always smelt of dirt and sweat, but he always made time for her. He was always teaching her new things. Good posture, how to balance, and one time he even tried to teach her a really cool dance. Smart as she was, her chubby body couldn't quite perform the same way his did. Mama would always laugh and watch.

 

They were a happy family.

* * *

 

 

Shit hit the metaphorical fan a few months after her third birthday.

 

Otou-san had been teaching her some weird hand signs. She assumed it was sign language of some sort. He’d always been super happy with her progress so she honestly didn’t care what it was. When he first did it she couldn't keep up. Seriously how could his hands move so fast. Then he slowed down. It wasn't that hard to learn once she got the hang of it.

 

"Pay attention Yuri-chan. Remember what I told you about your chakra." another word for energy or something along those lines. She’d heard plenty of theories on it, but this one made sense. She could actually feel her chakra. At first it had been little buzzes she felt and then it became a constant tingle. Both Mama and Otou-san helped her learn to control it. "Now after this one I want you to concentrate it into your eyes. Focus on trying to see  _ more _ ."

 

Weird but okay.

 

She concentrated hard on keeping up with his hands. All the while she felt the fuzzy buzz that was chakra building behind her eyes. Last hand sign, and dad said something that about made her die a second time.

 

"Byakugan" the world all around lit up, and she let out a little screech. Vessels strained around her eyes, and her Otou-san went from being a normal human being to a chaotic mess of blue lines. she couldn't hold it long.

 

One, it had scared the shit out of her. She could see  _ EVERYTHING. _

 

Two, he said Byakugan. As in.. Byakugan. Naruto any one? She was in Naruto.

 

Dormant memories came rushing back.

 

Her father laughed as she toppled to the side in shock. He probably thought it was because of what they just did. In her head she was screaming. Memories that she didn't even know she had came rushing to the surface. Orochimaru. The Great Shinobi Wars. Tailed beasts. Madara. Oh and... Madara. Did she forget to mention creepy snake face?

 

Suddenly her father's white pupiless eyes made all the sense in the world. She was a Hyuuga. She was Yuriko Hyuuga. Daughter of Hideki and Botan Hyuuga. They hadn't just been teaching her hand signs. They had been preparing her. They were training her to be a shinobi.

 

Another fucking war. 

 

She couldn't catch a break.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Feeling my way through the darkness_ **

**_Guided by a beating heart_ **

**_I can’t tell where the journey will end_ **

**_But I know where to start_ **

* * *

 

Better she found out sooner than later.

 

Right?

 

She wasn’t sure where in the timeline she was, but she was sure there would be plenty of fighting in her future. Technically she had a leg up on the competition. Competition being other shinobis, and that thought didn’t make her feel any better. Here she was three and a half years old and she couldn’t even throw a kunai. There had to be plenty of kids ahead of her. That was normal for ninja kids, right? Kakashi had been, what, six years old when he graduated the Academy? She had been learning quickly, but there was no way she was that awesome. So she did the only thing she could.

 

Bug the shit out of her parents.

 

Both of them were trained ninjas. Otou-san was still actively working, but Mama was always home so she assumed she was retired. She knew her mother had been a ninja because she was constantly having her do chakra control exercises, but she never left for long periods of time like her father did. It was brilliant, though. Mama taught her a lot of basic skills and concepts, and Otou-san would start teaching her Clan techniques.

 

"Otou-san, will my 'yakugan ever be as strong as yours?" after months of getting acquainted with the kekkei genkai she was starting to worry. She was creeping up on her fourth birthday and there seemed to be no improvement in her Byakugan. Like most of her clan, she was able to see another person’s chakra network, but her range never exceeded about ten feet.

 

"The power of our Byakugan varies, little one." he responded. Hands went under her arms and her picked her up to set her on the porch that ran along the back of their house. Gently he ran his hands over her little chubby legs. The two of them had spent the afternoon working on taijutsu, and being the diligent father that he was he made sure she hadn’t strained herself.

 

"But why is mine so weak! Does that mean I'm a bad Hyuuga?" why be born into a clan if she couldn’t reap the benefits?

 

"Well, that's because you're part Otou-san and part Mama." he said happily. That was probably the most unamusing answer he could have given her.  What did that even mean? Could Mama do something to make it better?

 

"So... Mama's Byakugan isn't a strong as Otou-san's?" he out right laughed this time. A faint blush swept across her cheeks. He was being so difficult! Why couldn’t he just tell her?

 

"Mama doesn't have a Byakugan, silly. " her mouth formed a small ‘o’ and he tapped her nose. Automatically her brain jumped into analysis mode. It had never occurred to her that her mother was not a Hyuuga. That could have only happened through some weird form of inbreeding, and she was not okay with that thought. So, that meant she was only half. If genetics were even remotely the same the potency of her Kekkei Genkai might be low. Was that how blood limits worked? Unless she was some kind of genetic miracle, which was definitely a no.

 

AHH

 

Best to have the eyes then to not.

 

She had to be positive.

 

“That just means I'll have to train harder to be as strong as Otou-san!" she mumbled more to herself, but the statement made her father laugh. Before she realized it he had picked her up and swung her around.

 

"I have no doubt that my little Yuri-chan will be strong like both Otou-san and Mama."

 

Probably not, but his sentiment made her feel giddy inside.

 

"Promise?"

 

"Promise"

 

* * *

 

“Otou-san, where are we going?” a few weeks later her father was leading her by hand through the Hyuuga Complex. She was used to leaving the house, but this felt different. Normally, when she went out it was with Mama. In fact, now that she thought about it, Otou-san had never been anywhere with them before.

 

She got excited. Not only did she get to go somewhere with him, but Mama had dressed her up too! Today she was dressed in a plain lavender kimono. Nothing too fancy or heavy. All of her dark hair had been swept lovingly into a bun by her Mama. Her little wooden sandals clacked on the stone pathway. She didn’t like to brag, but she looked pretty damn cute right now.

 

Next to her Otou-san was dressed in a simple black kimono, and wore a rather serious expression on his face. He probably had a reputation to keep, being a ninja and all. Happily she all but skipped alongside of him, making sure to put on her best serious face when someone passed by. That turned out to be easier said than done. She was just in such a bubbly mood!

 

"Ne, can we get some dango after this!" she chatted idly.

 

No answer.

 

"OR! I could show you were Okaa-san and I get ramen from! It's really yummy and the bowls are THIS big" she gestured dramatically with her arms. At the corner of his eye she saw a slight twitch.  Ha! Her adorableness was working! He sighed and stopped. Smoothly he knelt down infront of her. Happiness melted into worry as he straightened at her kimono with shaky hands. That was when she saw the anguish in his eyes

 

"Otou-san..."

 

"Otou-san wants you to make him a promise, okay Yuriko?" she really didn’t like where this was going, he had just used her full name. She didn’t want to let him down, though..

 

"Okay!" so maybe she was a bit to enthusiastic.

 

"Promise me that no matter what happens you'll be brave. It's our job as the Branch family to take care of the Main house, right?" that statement floored her a little bit. This had been something her parents constantly talked about. She understood it, but she didn't agree. This was also coming out of left field.

 

Stiffly she nodded her little head.

 

"Right and the Main House takes care of the Branch Houses." she parroted back.

 

"Good girl. Now, promise me that no matter what you'll obey the Main House members." that was an infuriating thought. Why would she pledge her undying faith to people she didn't know.

 

"But what if they're doing something bad! What if they want me to hurt a puppy or.. or.." he put a hand on her head to stop her babbling.

 

"Promise me Yuriko." Gah! He was using _that_ voice. The one she wasn’t allowed to argue with! No fair!

 

"I'm promise Otou-san"

 

"And what do we do with promises?"

 

"We keep them." she responded almost out of habit.

 

"That's our shinobi way" he ruffled her hair, and she couldn't help but feel like she just did something really mature.

 

Everything made sense later as she was curled up crying in her mother's arms. Green and placed on her forehead was the seal that would keep her from ever hurting the Main House. The elders had to test it out before they left. Normally, it was something done to infants, which was appalling, and the elders wanted to be positive it would work before she left. Never in her life could she recall feeling so much pain. She was scared. The whole concept of the ceal terrified her. Someone she barely knew held the power to scramble her mind like they were eggs. Now her otou-san’s words made sense. He didn’t want her to go through that pain again.

 

Mama was furious.

 

Otou-san didn't look at her for a month.

 

* * *

  


"Mama, does Otou-san hate me?" she stared glumly at her breakfast. He was still refusing to look at her. Mama had put bandages around her forehead so she couldn’t see the marks. Why? Probably because she was constantly trying to scratch the seal off. Not very grown up of her, but every time she caught a glimpse of her reflection the seal was there taunting her. She could _feel_ it there.

 

Yuri pondered on the seal as she stared at her miso soup. The memory of Neji’s anger towards the Main house made sense. How terrible to do this to your own family. No matter how many marriages or generations that separated them, they were still family. Right? Protect the clan leaders, she understood that, but this… All she could feel was resentment. This was an awful thing to subjugate children to. Apparently she was supposed to get the seal at birth. Mama had fought it, but in the end the Clan won out.

 

"Oh, Yuri-chan." her mother stopped fussing over the dishes and sat next to her. "Otou-san is just very busy right now. He could never hate you."

 

"Really?" she looked up into her mother’s red eyes. Why couldn't she have eyes like that. Instead she inherited the stupid Byakugan. Her father's genes seemed to be incredibly dominant. She had the same brown black hair and lavender-white eyes. Okaa-san had white blond hair (more white then blonde) and deep red eyes. Not like the Uchiha. Her eyes were red all the time.

 

"Really. In fact, he told me that he was going to teach you some ninjutsu when he gets done with his mission!" she was trying to distract. It worked.

 

"Really! Does that mean I can still be a shinobi?" she had been worried he wouldn’t keep training her. She wouldn’t put it by her father to make her as little of a threat as possible so the Main House didn’t hurt her. He was going to keep teaching her though! Ninjutsu even! That meant she’d be able to do things like make clones! And poof around everywhere.. And..and..

 

"Of course it does. Mama plans on teaching you a thing or two as well!" she said with a grin. Mama ruffled her hair. An excited gasp escaped her as she poked her nose. Yuri wasn't sure what her mother was capable of, but her Mama had to be pretty cool right?

 

Better yet, she was going to be a ninja! That was exciting and terrifying all at once. On one hand she'd be able to do some super awesome fighting. On the other, her knowledge of the future left her feeling helpless. If she wasn't careful she could ruin the Konoha she knew. She could change everything.

 

No pressure

 

"Now! Go get cleaned up. Mama has a friend coming over."

 

* * *

 

 

To say she was excited to meet a new person was and understatement. Somehow the visit managed to eclipse all of her anxiety over the future. In the back of her mind she blamed her attention span

 

After she gulped down her breakfast Yuri hurried to her room to clean up. She wiggled out of her dark blue pjs. Words couldn’t describe how happy she was to have decent motor skills again. Relying on someone else to dress had gotten old quick. Quickly she wrestled open a drawer and pulled out a pair of black capris, made of soft cotton, and a white tank top.

 

From her closet she grabbed a kimono-esk vest. This was her favorite thing to wear. Green with gold trimming, just like her father’s Jounin vest, it came down to her hips with long billowy sleeves. Finally she wrapped it properly around her torso and tied it together with a matching golden cord. When she looked in the mirror Yuri decided that this would be her trademark look. Every good shinobi had one right? Now if only she knew what to do with her hair. Maybe a braid? How did she do that again?

 

"Maaama!" she slung the door to her bedroom open with a little more force than was probably needed. Hair tie in hand she scampered down the hall in search of her mother. Normally she’d find her in the kitchen, so that was where she looked first. When she rounded the corner leading to the living room, which then connected to the kitchen, she bumped into someone hard. With a squeak she fell back on her butt

 

"Huh?"

 

"Owie." she grumbled rubbing her lower back. Who ever she’d run into chuckled and crouched down in front of her. A small blush ran over her cheeks. Mama would be angry if she forgot her manners. “Sorry..”

 

"Hello there, little one." the deep voice was unfamiliar, but little bells rang in her head. After a few blinks she looked up.

 

Straight into the face of the Third Hokage.

 

Oh sweet baby jesus.

 

"Hiruzen-san!" her mother chose that moment to come back from where ever she had been. Her voice sounded extremely happy. “I'm happy you were able to come see use today! You're sure I'm not pulling you away from anything important?"

 

"Nothing important enough to keep me from meeting sensei's grand-daughter for the first time." he said with a smile. Mama hugged him and Yuri was left rather confused. He came here to meet her? She was who's granddaughter? Feeling rather bashful she climbed to her feet and positioned herself behind her mother's leg.

 

"Oh, Yuri-chan, nothing to worry about. This is Hiruzen-san, a student of my father's and good friend. Be a dear and greet him properly!" she chided pushing Yuri towards the Hokage. Pouting Yuri glared at his feet. This was embarrassing. Her mother could have at least mentioned it was the Hokage dropping by.

 

"G..g..good morning Hokage-sama." she stammered out and bowed stiffly at the waist. Both adults apparently thought it was endearing because they laughed.

 

"Every bit Hideki's daughter I see." he said in an amused manner. Why did she feel like she was missing out on a joke…

 

"I'd like to think there's a little bit of me in there." Mama punched his shoulder. Yuri cringed. Should she really be punching the Hokage? He didn't seemed phased by it though. That was mildly comforting. She just didn't want an angry team of Anbu to come crashing in because her mother wanted to beat up on the old man.

 

Hand on my shoulder Yuri was ushered out into the garden. Yuri doubted Mama wanted to keep him cooped up, and one of the perks of living in Hyuuga compound was the amount of space they had. Their own little area had a small garden that she could practice in. Happy to get away from the awkward situation Yuri bolted out the door.

 

* * *

  


Seeing as they were both boring adults all they did was talk. From what Yuri could pick up on they were just catching up. She wanted to pretend like she didn’t care, but curiosity was killing her. Also, chasing butterflies and catching grasshoppers could only entertain for so long. Time to practice her ninja skills!

 

She wandered to a far corner of the garden. The flower bushes there, barely alive because her mother did not have a green thumb, were tall enough to obscure her. There was also the big tree that cast plenty of shade to hide her. As quietly as possible she snuck around the tree. When she peeked around the large  trunk she noticed they were looking at the other side of the garden. As quickly and as quietly as possible she bolted towards the side of the house. She pressed herself as close to the bottom side of the porch as she could. She’d eavesdrop on their conversation!

 

They totally knew she was there. Mama nonchalantly threw a pebble at her foot, which had been sticking out slightly.

 

Rude, but she hid herself better.

 

"I'm not sure your father would approve of that seal on his grand daughter." the Hokage said a bit angrily. He wasn't angry at Mama, but he was obviously not happy about something. Yuri touched her forehead. Under those bandages she could practically feel the mark burning. Why would he even care?

 

"What would you have me do? It's ‘clan tradition’. I fought it as long as I could. I knew full well what I was getting myself into when I married Hideki." Mama sounded sad, but sure of herself. "Besides, she has the added benefit of being Senju as well, and those from _my_ clan have always been stronger."

 

Senju... why was that making more warning bells go off in my head?

 

Senju

 

Senju

 

"They'll train her mostly in taijutsu you know that. That’s the Hyuuga specialty" Even Yuri knew that. Her father was going to teach her all of the Clan techniques and beginner ninjutsu. Then when she got to the Academy everyone would be super impressed. BAM. She was awesome in the making.

 

At Least that was the plan.

 

"My daughter will train in whatever way she wants. They can mark her with that damn seal, but if she wants to specialize in something different I'll be damned if they dictate her life." whoa, Mama actually sounded kind of scary. That was really cool!

 

"I thought you knew what you were getting yourself into?" Hokage-sama sounded amused, "They'll want her to protect the Main House."

 

"Village first." what Mama said was completely different from Otou-san, who always put the Clan first. "They forget they're dealing with the daughter of the Nidaime."

 

She could hear the smugness in her mother’s voice.

 

Wait a second.

 

DID SHE SAY NIDAIME?!

 

Did that mean she was related in some weird way to Tsunade. Wasn't the Nidaime some kind of badass? Duh, Yuri, he'd have to be pretty freaking cool to be a Hokage. Don't ask stupid questions.She argued internally. Wait, why was she arguing with herself?

 

Shut up.

 

Shut up

 

"Besides, while she may look like her father she takes after me in the chakra department." More pride. Yuri felt like her ego was glowing from her mother's words. That and apparently she didn't get as screwed as she thought genetically.

 

"Oh? Sounds like she's got some big shoes to fill then. I look forward to seeing Sensei's grand child become a successful ninja then." he laughed and they kept on talking. Yuri was caught somewhere between disbelief and excitement.

 

She was the granddaughter of Tobirama Senju.

 

Shit, people were going to expect a lot from her..

 

What if she failed?

 

What if she let the Village down?

 

Definitely too much pressure.


	3. Chapter 3

**_The sun's been nice the past few days_ **

**_I sit around just to watch all the clouds_ **

**_A lazy hazy blue sky time_ **

**_This sighing air that's closing my eyes_ **

* * *

 

True to her word Yuri’s mother dragged her to the training grounds the next day. Not that she was complaining. She was super excited to learn some cool new tricks, but Mama had woken her up before the son was even in the sky. So eyes fogged with sleep she lagged behind as the walked the streets of their quiet village to a training ground. Ninjas and crazy people were the only ones who could possibly be out and about, right?

 

Her mother seemed to fall into both of those categories. While her mother was prone to some mischief at home, Yuri had never seen her mother so energetic. With her pale hair pulled back into a tight ponytail her mother’s face looked a lot younger. Bright red eyes, a lot clearer than Yuri’s, seemed to pick up on every slight movement. Her mother had always been very watchful when they were in public, but she seemed even more aware today. Her mother definitely looked like a ninja! She’d ditched her daily kimono and was dressed in a standard Jounin uniform.

 

She never knew her mother was a Jounin.

 

So much for the retirement theory.

 

Uhg, her feet hurt.

 

"Mama!"

 

Yuri called out to her mother who was a good five feet ahead. Through white bangs her mother looked over her shoulder. The toddler made expectant grabby hands. Pick me up! Pick me up! She was so sleepy and wanted to curl on that comfortable shoulder to nap. There was the slightest quiver of emotion that ran over the older  woman’s face. Then a stone wall went up. 

 

"No Yuri-chan. How do you expect to get stronger if people always carry you." a raw ache bloomed in her chest. She was right, of course, but hearing the coldness in her mother’s voice made her heart hurt. Yuri was torn between wanting to cry and the need to make her mother proud. Furiously, with her little palms, she scrubbed at her eyes before tears could fall.  

 

With her chin Yuri took those emotions and shoved them into a little box at the back of her mind. Shinobi didn’t feel emotion. She’d have to find a way to see her mother as her teacher and not the woman that kissed her head before bed, or made her feel safe when there were thunderstorms. This was a her teacher.

 

Man, she didn't want to grow up!

 

She was four years old!

 

Whatever…

 

Yuri reassured herself that training with her mother would make her a better ninja. No, make her a freaking awesome ninja! 

 

Bright side

Bright side

 

She was going to be amazing. Then when the wars came she would be prepared. That thought made a cold vacuum appear in her stomach. The sound of electricity filled her ears. For a moment she wasn’t walking down the road with her moment. The dusty road turned to wet rock. A roar full of pain and anguish came from behind her. Yuri’s breath caught in her throat.

 

“Hurry up Yuri-chan.”

 

The memory was sucked away leaving her breathless. Adrenaline raced through her veins as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Why was she thinking of war? Something bad was coming, right? She remember something bad was coming. It had to be.

 

Or had she just dreamed it.

* * *

Training was far more productive than Yuri wanted it to be. Personally she felt like she had done quite a bit of physical activity, but the moment she felt like she’d hit her limit Mama pushed her even harder. They had done basic warm ups and then ‘cardio’. A whole hour her Mama had made her run, and she used run as a very loose description of what happened. The training she’d done in the compound? That was running. Holy dango balls was her mother insane. Like, lightning striking with a scratchy old record in the background type of evil.

 

She wanted to cry

Or collapse   
  


To be fair the training was effective. Yuri barely had anytime to reflect on her hatred for cardio. For a straight hour she was more worried about dodging the explosive tags her mother was throwing at her. YES! Kunai with small explosive seals being thrown everywhere she went.  Insane! Granted, the explosions weren’t nearly big enough to kill or dismember her. That still wasn’t the point! Getting hit by one hurt… a lot. So she dodged, rolled,(tripped), and ran. Over and over. The workout was probably extreme for a four year old. 

 

Otou-san would have thrown a fit. His training was all about control and discipline. Mama was completely out of control. Eventually Yuri abandoned her running plan, and took to hiding.

 

"Yuuuuri-chan. Don't hide from Mama! I thought you wanted to learn!" she called out.

Yuri felt an eye twitch as she gasped for air. Trying her best to sooth her struggling  lungs. Sweet! Mama had no idea where she was!Look at her being sneaky and stuff. Relief washed over the four year old  and she relaxed against the tree.

 

"Good job Yuri-chan! I think you got the best of her!" a whisper behind her caused Yuri to freeze.

"Wei! Ho...how..did you find me?" horrified she turned and found herself staring into her mother's sparkling red eyes. There was a cat like grin on her face as she did a double take. A copy of her mother was still in the field smiling and waving.

 

"Lesson number one Yuri-chan, be as quiet as possible when hiding. Even the quietest sigh can give away your position.”

 

Her breathing! That had given her away! Well, that and her mother was a well seasoned Jounin, but Yuri’s mind spun around the lesson she’d learned. Be quiet. The dots connected in her head,and her mother patted her on the head while spinning a kunai on her finger.

 

"Now would be a good time to run, ne?"

 

Pupiless eyes widened. Yuri didn’t need to be told twice. Jello like legs solidified and Yuri darted away as a tag exploded behind her. An amused laugh came from all around, and Yuri found herself subject to another hour of hide and explode.

* * *

 

Mercy finally came. 

 

Arms and legs spread, Yuri lay on her back prone. With every breath her chest heaved to bring in enough air to sooth her lungs. Lavender eyes were screwed shut, and she felt her skin tingle as Mama’s presence settled next to her. She didn’t care. At this moment the sun was warm, and her muscles were liquid. Nails lightly ran along her scalp, her dark braid already ruined from the day’s activities. Yuri relaxed. 

 

"You did well Yuri-chan. Quick on your feet. Tell me little bird, what are the Hyuuga known for?" she asked. This was easy.

 

"The Byakugan."

 

"What else."

 

"The Juuken, our taijutsu." that had been drilled into her the moment she was able to understand. Clan secrets. She’d already started to learn the general style from her father and few of the other Branch members. Vaguely she recalled a boy with a long braid making a cool shield like thing. His name was on the tip of her tongue. 

 

Neji.

 

A dull pain flared up behind her eyes as a headache rolled in, but the memory surfaced. Neji was from the anime. That’s right. She was living an anime. Neji had learned techniques only the Main Branch knew. So unless she picked that up by herself, which was doubtful, she’d never learn it. Not that she planned on using her Byakugan all that much anyway.

 

"Now, what are the Senju known for?" that was a bit of a curve-ball. Mama never talked about her clan. 

 

"They helped found the village?"

 

"Very good!"

 

Ha. Look at her answering questions and what not.

 

"What else?

 

Shit..

 

Silence seemed to amuse her Mama. Plucking a piece of grass the white haired shinobi tickled Yuri’s nose. With a groan the toddler swiped at it sluggishly. Yuri couldn’t help but think of the stark different between her mother and Otou-san. How did such a solemn man fall for someone so bubbly and passionate. Opposites attract maybe? After today she was was starting to question both of their sanity. Mama was a tad bit crazy. Otou-san was a hero for being able to survive her as long as he did.

 

“You’re wandering.” her Mama chided. Yuri refocused her attention. “While most clans focus on one skill, the Hyuuga’s and their taijutsu for example, our clan did well in anything they put their minds to. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, you name it! Your grandfather’s brother developed the wood release all on his own. We were called the clan with a thousand skills.”

 

A weird heaviness settle in the air.

 

“We also have incredible life force. Do you know what that means?”

 

“More chakra!” pride welled in Yuri’s chest as she remembered her father’s lessons on chakra control. Look at her paying attention! “More chakra means we can do more cools stuff in fights and last longer!”

 

“That’s right.” Mama patted her head softly, and dropped the conversation there. Yuri felt like she was missing something, but couldn’t figure out what.

 

After that Mama lead her through some cool down exercises, but by the time they were finishing up more people were starting to show up to the training ground. They did stay very long once that started happening. Mama got very jittery and kept glancing around like she was seeing something. Yuri just equated it to her mother being insane. She didn’t care. She just wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep.

For the most part that ended our training. Mama made me do some cool down exercises, but by the time I finished more people were starting to show up. We didn't stay very long. Mama got very jittery and kept glancing around like she was seeing things. I just equated it to her being out of her mind today. I just wanted to get home and crawl in my bed.

* * *

"Mama, why did you marry Otou-san." Botan about tripped and fell over. At this point Yuri was riding on her back. The toddler gave herself points for being pathetic enough to make her mother drop the whole sensei bit.

 

"N..ne?" she stammered out. A bit of an adult question, but she was curious. The Senju were a pretty prestigious clan. Not to say the Hyuuga weren't, but wouldn't it make sense for her to marry into the Main House then the Branch House?

 

"Gran..gran.." since when did this get hard to say? Grandpa. Just say grandpa. "Toto, " that would have to work, "was really important right?"

 

"Right.."

  
  


"Wouldn't that make you like... a  _ hime _ or something?" she didn’t know how to convey this. Yuri prayed her mother would understand. She must have, because she felt her mother tense. Again red eyes darted around in a paranoid way.

 

"I suppose it would in a sense. Think about it like this Yuri-chan." she was speaking softly. Why? Yuri didn't know. There wasn't anyone around to hear. Unless you counted the random civilians, but what did they matter? "If you had to protect mama from bad people what would you do."

 

"No one could hurt you Mama! And if they tried I'd kick them!" came her childish reply.

 

"What if they were stronger and I was hurt?"

 

"Uhmm. We'd hide? Right?"

 

"Exactly. That's how I ended up with your father." she said. Yuri decided right then that her parents really weren't good at explaining things in full. Her mother’s answer left her mildly confused.

 

"You hid and Otou-san found you?"

 

"No no, little bird." she said laughing. Blood rushed to Yuri’s cheeks. She wasn't exactly giving the greatest clues. "There were some bad people trying to kill the Senju. Your grandfather arranged for me to marry your Otou-san. He served under my father for a long time. He was a very discreet choice. No one would expect the Second Hokage's daughter to marry a Hyuuga from the Branch house."

 

Holy dango balls.

 

She had been the product of an arranged marriage. This had been a political move. That made enough sense. Up until this point she’d never really had a reason to question her parent’s marriage. Tobirama was trying to protect his daughter, and probably his entire bloodline. If she remember correctly the only Senju still left after all was said and done was Tsunade. So did that mean there was a whopping three Senju left?

 

Why clutter the bloodline though? What was the purpose of that? Mixing Hyuuga and Senju would dilute both, right? Was that how genetics worked here? Wait, no, it was brilliant! The Hyuuga were a strong and large clan. Obviously their genetics were dominant as hell so it was more likely, and had happened in my case, for a child to take on Hyuuga traits then Senju traits. When people looked at her they saw Hyuuga. Not a high ranking Hyuuga so no one worth a second glance. Not a Senju. Not the granddaughter of the second Hokage. Thus the proverbial target on her back was smaller.

 

"Does that mean you don't love Otou-san?" if she didn't Yuri was hard pressed to see it. While her parents were very different they'd always been very good to one another.

 

"Of course I do!" she said smiling. "It was hard at first. He was so serious and like my father, but it didn't take long. Don't tell him this, but I always admired his aloof mannerisms. As a kid it burned me! I thought he was so arrogant and looking down on me. He barely ever spoke to me!"

 

It was Yuri’s turn to laugh. She imagined it all in her head. The second Hokage's daughter getting mad because a ninja wouldn't talk to her. Yuri could see her mother plotting and scheming ways to torture him.

"I dyed his hair blue once. He was so upset with me. Your father chased me around the village for a good hour demanding that I turn it back. Nifty little concoction I had created. It didn't wash out for two months." she sighed and Yuri’s laughs grew.

 

She  _ had _ to get more stories out of them.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_I wanna be like you, I wanna say that I can_

_I wanna be the person that you think that I am_

_But even if I had it all come true like a dream_

_Is the person I came to be the really real me?_

* * *

 

Time passed, and on this particular day Yuri found herself waking up earlier than normal. So early that her Mama wasn’t even up yet. She wasn’t too surprised. Practice had been getting progressively longer and harder. Everyday Yuri found her limit increasing. She revelled in the progress that was gained by pushing harder and harder every day. Then Mama started acting plain weird over the last week or so. Her mother had been getting sick a lot, and wasn’t eating. When they went to the doctor everything was fine, but Mama was told to rest more.

 

Yuri _had_ to train though.

She _had_ to get stronger.

 

So, she did the one thing she was told never to do. She left the compound by herself. In her mind she repeated over and over again how stupid the rules were. First of all, she had just turned five years old. FIVE YEARS OLD. She was practically a grown up. She also knew a lot of jutsus now. She could even _tree walk_. What other fiver year old could do that. In fact, the only thing she was worried about was older children bullying her. If that happened she’d just use her super cool skills to get away, and go back home.

 

Easy peasy!

 

Quietly, the ninja kind of quiet, she slipped out of the house. The compound as a whole was fairly quiet, and the few people she passed didn’t even bat an eye at her. She’d seen other Hyuuga kids run around all the time. To her irritation it was only her that seemed to be on a leash. It sucked a lot, but she knew Mama didn’t like her being by herself. The woman was worried someone would try and hurt her. Yuri blamed it on being the first child.

 

They lived in the Hidden Leaf! How could she not be safe here? Even more, she was going to the training ground where she’d be surrounded by shinobi. Perfectly safe as long as she stayed out of their way. Which, thanks to exploding kunai practice, she was really good at doing. Besides, she was growing up. Grown ups had to do things by themselves.

 

A bit of adrenaline rushed through her veins as she walked through the dark empty streets. This was the first time she’d been alone since...ever. The possibilities of what she could do managing her own practice time was exciting. What would she try first? Maybe she could try and figure out her elemental affinity. That would be cool.

 

She could always practice her taijutsu. Uhg, but she did that every day. In fact, if there was one thing she wasn’t worried about it was her taijutsu. Sure , she’d probably never master the Gentle Fist. Who actually wanted to learn something called _gentle_. Nah, she was quite content with being just good with hand to hand. Ninjutsu was way cooler. The rush of chakra was addicting, and she could only imagine what kind of cool things she’d be able to do in the future. That’s why she had to experiment. There was no way she was going to find someone to teach her, a five year old, Jounin level jutsus.

 

Stingy grownups.

* * *

After almost a full year of training at the same stupid training ground you would think Yuri would have an easy time getting there. Suprise! She didn’t know the way. Without Mama to guide her she ended up taking a wrong turn… or five. Now she was completely turned around. She told herself that if she kept walking she’d eventually find her way there, but that was probably the dumbest thing she’d ever thought up. The sun was now fully visable in the sky. People were filling the streets, and not a single one of them paid her any attention.

 

Things to do.

People to see.

 

Yuri had to give herself some points. She wasn’t panicking at all. The fact that she was actually able to go out and see things on her own gave her a positive attitude on this whole being lost situation. Yeah, she wouldn’t be able to train, but this seemed like a decent trade off. A strong wanderlust filled her. So far her life had consisted of their home in the compound, the training ground, and the one row of the marketplace her mother always took her to. Time to actually get to know her village! See what the up and up was. Et to understand why everyone want to protect it so badly.

 

From what her parents had told her Konoha was a rather big village. A vague memory confirmed that for her. For the most part everything seemed rather peaceful. Corny as it sounded the most shrill noise she heard were other kids laughing as they played. Specifically civilian kids around her own age. She'd pause a moment to watch them chase each other in a game of what looked like tag. It was weird how clumsy they were in their movements, but they seemed to be just as energetic as she always was. Part of her actually itched to join in. That would be unfair. She had an advantage over them.

 

Sad day.

No tag for her then.

 

After watching them play for ten or so movements she started walking again. A few shinobi passed by her as they went who knows where to do who knows what. She even passed a team of genin who were complaining about a hard morning’s training session. There was some teasing between the three of them before they disappeared into a food stall. That would be her one day. Stuck on a team of people she either dislike or really enjoy. That was about four or five years away. She’d have to graduate the Academy first.

 

Hmmm

 

Unless she graduated early..

 

Still she found herself mentally asking. Was Konoha really worth fighting for? Worth putting her life on the line for? Worth losing people for? Yes, came the automatic answer. Ths was her home. A home was always worth fighting for. Memories dwelled on the outskirts of her mind. Dread was hidden amongst her natural patriotism. She tried to recall whatever it was that danced on the tip of her tongue. A sharp pain blossomed behind her eyes. She had forgotten something important. Something that made the village important. A mess of names and faces filled her head, and she couldn’t make sense of them.

 

Protect the village.

 

A voice that was not her own range clear and loud though the mess. It repeated the statement over and over. At first she thought she was just remembering something her mother had taught her, but there was a feeling that built up in her chest. Urgency. Helplessness. Fear that gathered in her stomach when she tried to imagine what the future might hold. Still she couldn’t stop questioning.

 

Why should she protect this place? The clan saw her as a pawn in some game. She had no friends. All she had were her parents. Why protect everyone else?

 

Was she really ready to give her life for it when the time came?

* * *

More and more she wandered. The sun was climbing higher in the sky with every passing minute, and sweat was starting to dot her forehead. In the distance she could hear the sound of splashing water and laughing. Curious of what was happening she followed the sound. Maybe she could swim! She didn’t know how to swim. Did she? Who cared. The idea of jumping into cool water was refreshing. Giddy from the notion of cool water soaking her skin Yuri hurried towards the sound. Well, she was hurried until she turned the corner, and almost fell over.

 

She shouldn’t have been surprised.

She REALLY shouldn’t have been surprised.

 

To her right was a tall worn wooden fence. All of the noise she was hearing had been coming from behind it. A soft breeze tugged at the loose strands of dark hair around her face, a promise of reprieve from the heat. One problem, it was humid as hell. That was when she realized, this was a hot spring.

 

Who the hell goes to a hot spring when it was already hot?

Were these people insane?

 

“Ladies, ladies, come closer!” a man mumbled to himself. He was completely oblivious to her presence, and the white haired man squinted through what she assumed was a hole. In hand he had a pencil and notepad. An itch started behind her eyes. She knew this guy. He was important. What was his name? The uncaringly strong fist of memories punched her in the face.

 

Jiraiya. Sannin. Sage. Massive pervert.

 

Unclear pictures she couldn’t quite piece together made her head spin. She saw him with a blonde kid. She saw him flirting shamelessly with a woman. Saw him with two frogs perched on his shoulder. Watched him sink into an abyss. Her vision felt like it was being sucked through a pinhole, and then it was gone. Part of her wanted to sit and reflect what the hell just happened, but she probably should deal with the situation at hand. She had two options walk away or interrupt him.

 

Walking would lead to more exploring

Interrupting would be amusing.

Decisions Decisions.

 

"N..ne? Ojii-san? Is everth..thing alright?" demure and the very image of child like innocence she spoke to him.It took a bit of acting on her part. Not that it was hard that damn stutter of hers was there to help. She wasn't stupid. She knew full well what he was doing.

 

"Huh?" face flushed the Sannin turned and looked at the small Hyuuga. A moment passed before he realized what he was looking at. A child. Jumping to his feet he tucked his book and pencil away and scratched the back of his head. "Oh.. uh.. Nothing! Just a bug I saw on the wood!"

 

Terrible lie. Just cause she was small didn’t mean she was an idiot.

Fine two can play this game.

 

"WEI!" her face contorted into child like horror and she all but screamed. Oh boy, did he panic. Hands waved in front of of him as he tried to get her to quiet down. Finally, he put a hand on her shoulder and one over her mouth. Damn would this look awkward if someone walked by.

 

"Hush, kid. Do you want to get us caught?" she couldn't help the grin that tugged at the corner of her mouth and the amusement that was probably sparkling in her eyes.

 

"Gmeht cumght dumn veut?" came her muffled reply through his hand. He looked at her sideways and slowly removed his hand.

 

"Get c..caught doing what?" she asked again. He blanked and she could see him searching his brain for an excuse. Yuri took the opportunity to peek through the hole. Women in a hot springs.

 

Yup.

Thanks for not letting anyone down pervy-sage.

 

"Hey! Shouldn't we warn those ladies about the bug?" she asked snapping him from his daze. Again her shoulders were grabbed, and she was pulled from the fence.

 

"I lied there is no bug. No need to go tell them." he said nervously. Almost as if he was afraid she'd run and tell on him. She leveled a glare at him. Pretty intimidating for her size if she was being honest.

 

"You w..were spying on them w..w..weren't you?" the grin broke on her face. "You're a PERVERT!'

 

"Oi, keep it down!. They'll hear you." he said looking around.

 

"You were doing s..something bad!"

 

He glared at her a moment and she felt like cackling in an evil manner. Instead she looked at him in an almost curious manner. His glare didn't soften. Her innocent routine wasn't going to fly anymore.

 

"What do you want?" he asked.

* * *

Twenty minutes and two snow cones later the two were sitting on a log near the training grounds. Yes, two snow cones later. The one in her hand was the third. She a growing child! She needed all the energy she could get! Humming happily to herself she nibbled on the delightfully cool desert. She hadn't realized how hungry or thirsty she was. Small miracle this happened, though she was sure she could have found someone to take pity on her.

"So you got a name kid?"

 

"Yuriko." she didn't give a last name for two reasons. One, she hated it. She honestly preferred her mother's clan name to her father's. Two, you'd have to be blind or an idiot not to know what clan she was from. The eyes were a dead give away. Jiraiya definitely was not blind, and while the case for him being an idiot could be made she doubted he was THAT oblivious.

 

"Tch, thought they taught you Hyuuga kids manners. Must have lost them when you hit your head." he said poking at the bandages on her forehead. Cold ice covered her hand as the snow cone exploded as her grip tightened around it. The sugary sweet stuff covered her pants and he looked at her curiously. Even after a year she’d never gotten rid of those bandages. Every day a new clean bandage. If she didn’t see that damn seal then it wasn't there.

 

"You're not actually hurt are you?" he asked taking her reaction as one of pain. In a rather mature manner she wiped what was left of her snow cone off my lap.

 

"No, Ero-ojii-san. Mama is probably wondering where I am is all" her stutter disappeared.

 

"Good! So you are no longer my problem!" he said jovially. A little hand grabbed the hem of his shirt as he started walking away.

 

"I'm lost." the look she got was one of pure disbelief.

 

"Lost? Shouldn’t you be able to, I don't know," he pointed at his eyes, "And find your way home?"

 

"My 'yakugan can only go fifteen feet." she said bluntly. He literally tripped over himself. Probably because admitting a weakness like that was dumb, but also because her eyes were shit.

 

"Fifteen feet? Isn't that a bit.." he was searching for a word that wouldn't offend her. "short?"

 

"The other kids call me useless." she stated bluntly. Don't sugar coat it. Call it what it was. "But Mama said I can be like her and train in other things. Otou-san still teaches me Clan taijutsu."

 

Silence.

 

"Mama's been sick though. So I haven't trained. I was going to train, but I got lost." she recounted my day ever so briefly. Sadness curled in her chest as she started to realize just how lonely it was to not have friends or other people she knew. "I think I should find another Sensei."

 

"Don't look at me."

 

Arrogant pervert, like she’d want to learn from him.

 

"N..no one could l..learn from a pervert like you!" there was that stutter again. He grinned as the solemn mood flew away.

 

"That's super pervert to you, brat!" he mussed her hair earning another glare. "Let get you home."

* * *

 

Jiraiya dropped her at the front of the Hyuuga compound. Well enough. She wasn’t sure how Mama would have taken meeting him. With her being sick and all Yuri didn't want her mother to get even more stressed out. Nothing would save her from her mother’s anger though. Dragging her heels Yuri headed back towards home. Dread pooled in her stomach at the sight of her father's boots sitting in the doorway.

 

Shit, this was going to suck.

 

"Young lady!" her father's voice boomed the moment she stepped through the door. Yuri cringed. "Where have you been!"

 

He stood in the middle of the main room with his arms crossed. That look on his face made her upset. Really upset. He looked _disappointed,_ and that tore her up inside. Mama was in the kitchen and moved to stand next to her father. The look on her face was just as terrible. she knew this was coming, but she didn't realize how hard it was going to be. Tears automatically welled up in her eyes.

 

"I.. I went out to train." she offered pathetically.

 

"By yourself! Do you know what could have happened to you?"

 

"But who would hurt me?"

 

"It's not just someone hurting you. You could have exhausted your chakra or hurt yourself. What you did was irresponsible. Do you understand?" he knelt in front of her and forced her to look him in the eye gently. "You worried us. When we couldn't find you at the training grounds we thought the worst."

 

How could she have been so selfish? Both of them were obviously worried about her. Looking at Mama she noticed what she was wearing. Clothes for going out. Not her normal kimono she wore around the house. She must have gone and grabbed father. The exact opposite of what Yuri was trying to do. Tears burst from my eyes and she all but leapt into his arms.

 

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted to let Mama rest!" she sobbed into his flack jacket. "Mama's been so sick, but I wanted to get stronger! So I was going to go by myself. Then I got lost. Then Jiraiya-ojii-san help me get back home."

 

There were some omitted facts, but she doubted they wanted to hear about their daughter catching a pervert doing perverted things. A hand came up and rubbed the back of her head. How far would they have gone to find her? Would they have hired some Genin? That would have been awkward.

 

Mama finally came over and squatted next to the two. Her father let her pull Yuri from his arms. She received a big hug before she held her at arm's length. A scary scowl on her face she looked Yuri dead in the eye. The only time she saw that look was when her mother was planning something evil.

 

"I think, little bird, that it is time for us to step up your training, ne? I'm thinking a bigger explosion. Especially since Mama can't chase after you as much now." she said grinning. Terror tore through Yuri and Otou-san chuckled. Stepping back she made to hide behind him.

 

"Nuh uh. You're not dragging me into this." he said pushing her back towards the cackling woman.

 

"But Otou-san, Mama's giving me that look again!" Yuri whined. "Sh.he's turning into a evil granny again!"

 

"WHAT!"

 

This time her father grabbed Yuri before her mother could strangle her.  There was a fire visible in her eyes, and the very corner of it was twitching. Making a quip about her age alleviated a bit of the tension in the air. Yuri and her father exchanged a nervous look. His eyes told her that he was debating on abandoning her, and Yuri’s was pleading for mercy.

 

"Don't we have something to tell Yuri-chan?"

 

Good job! Distract her and Yuri could run. His grip stayed locked on her though. Traitor. Her mother was looking at them, that crazy gleam still there. The two held their breaths and she smiled.

 

Crisis averted.

 

She could high five her father right now. He adjusted her to sit on his knee. Her mother propped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her hands. She hummed in the back of her throat and ruffled the young Hyuuga’s hair. Yuri didn't like where this was going. They were being way to nice.

 

"So Yuri-chan. I know Mama has been getting sick lately, but its nothing bad."

 

"O..okay?"

 

"What if I told you that Mama and otou-san were thinking about making you another sibling?" Her father almost fell with Yuri in his lap. Her mother wasn't very good at this. Yuri’s face was probably white. She had an idea of how this worked, and it made her want to run away screaming. She didn’t want to hear about this!

 

"Botan, she's five."

 

"Old enough to be a kunoichi right, Yuri-chan?" Yuri nodded numbly. "So we should talk to Yuri-chan like an adult!"

Her father just shook his head.

 

"Anyway!" Mama chirped. "You're going to be a big sister, Yuri-chan!"


	5. Chapter 5

_And I'm terrified, the future is unclear_

_In my own eyes, the past is dark_

* * *

“Yuri stay moving! A stationary target is easier to hit.” her Otou-san barked. Easier said than done. Yuri was tired and he was _relentless_. They danced back and forth like snakes. She wanted to be proud of herself, but everytime she made the slightest misstep he was there. Quick and fluid.  

The Gentle Fist was one of the things she would be able to do when it came to clan techniques. It blew her mind how easily her Otou-san could find every weakness. All she could do was deflect blow after blow. Never on the offensive. She was getting quick, though. Her actual taijustu was coming along quite well. In last few weeks she’d developed a keener eye for locating other people’s Tenketsu. Which was a solid plus, seeing as her range was shit.

 

_Tap tap tap._

 

On the outside it might have seemed like it was a bit much, but he pulled back at the last moment to spare her the actual impact of his touch. That didn't stop his chakra from pushing into her as his fingers hit up along her left arm.

 

Having a chakra point block was weird to describe. Not painful, but she struggled to define the feeling. It wasn’t like a cork, but it wasn’t stabbing like a needle. The stop of chakra flow was uncomfortable. An itch just below the skin that she couldn’t reach. Like a limb that had fallen asleep.

He didn’t stop for her to examine the now useless limb. Yuri had only a moment to flew her working hand before he was lashing out again. In a moment of panic she surged  chakra into her legs to jump back. She overcompensated and ended up knocking over a bird bath. She was tempted to use a justu, but thought better of it. This was Clan training.

Deep breath, and recenter.

Raising her hand she focused on him and charged. A hand whizzed past her head. He had slowed just a bit sensing her growing frustration. That was no good. She hit his hand away from her, and the fell back into pace. Punch and duck. Jab and fall back.

“That’s enough.” he said standing like they hadn’t been doing this for hours. Her lungs were screaming, but the burn was satisfying. “Let me look at your arm.”

The switch into dad  mode would have been jarring to anyone else.

“Hai!” the only response she could form as she trudged up to him. Automatically she let the Byakugan fall. His brow furrowed as he surveyed the damage. In all honesty she trusted him not to hurt her. He could be a bit of a hard ass, but her father cared.

“You can’t keep getting distracted.” he chided,”Keep your mind on the fight at hand. What were you thinking about anyway?”

“Dango.” the lie was so easy.

“Food?!” he almost fell over.

“Idiot! Do you know what could have happened?! You have to take your training seriously!” his face was comical, and she lived for it. There was a darkness on the horizon, and she needed these moments. What was it again? A monster? A war?

Her head _hurt_.

“Wei! Otou-san is making a scary face!” deflect and ignore. She scrunched up her face and ran away.

“Oh no you don’t!” he caught on to the playfulness. Easily he scooped her up and gave the weakest glare. “I think you need to be punished for not taking your training seriously.”

Oh shit.

“Noooo!” the squeal that came out of her mouth as he attacked her sides was almost inhuman. Hiccups and giggles erupted from her chest, and the darkness started to fade. She loved these moments. His stress levels were crazy lately. Not only was her Mama pregnant, but there were more missions and clan issues. Then the fact she was starting the Academy ssoon.

Otou-san worried to much.

 

* * *

“ A shame she didn’t inherit your range. She shows promise, though.” a voice shattered our little moment. Her father went stiff as a board, and placed her on her feet. Rubbing tears from her eyes she turned to see who had ruined their fun. Not that she got a chance to see. A hand  was on her head and pushing her into a deep bow.

“Good afternoon, Harutoo-sama.” confusion welled inside of her.

“No need for that,little brother. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you. Come, let’s talk a while.” there was a fondness in that voice.

The pressure on her head lifted and Yuriko resisted the urge to glare at her father. Instead she had to not let her jaw drop at their visitors. The clan head and his two sons. Herr uncle and cousins. When was the last time she saw them? Oh yeah, when her brain had been turned to mush.

“Boys, why don’t you show your cousins some things to help her with her Juken.” fear surged through her. Frantically she looked up at her father, but he had his face set in stone. This had the potential to suck for multiple reasons.

One, she was about to get tips from Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuuga. The two prodigies of the clan.

Two, she firmly believed they would use the brain trick on her if she offended them in the slightest.

Gods, she just wanted some dango.

While she was dealing with her internal turmoil the two adults started walking towards a random building. The twins exchanged a look of confusion. They were about thirteen, and she was pretty sure the idea of training a five year old was not appealing. If she wasn’t so intimidated she’d have laughed.

There was a long awkward moment before Hizashi finally said something.

“Hello Yuriko.” he knelt down to her height with a warm smile on his face. A bit of her anxiety eased.

“H..h..hello.” she managed to get out. “D..do we r..r..really have to t..train?”

“Why are you talking like that?” Hiashi  finally included himself in the conversation. His tone was curious, and oddly enough she wasn’t offended.

“Mama s..says I only do it w..w..when I’m nervous.” her tone was a little more matter of fact.

“Ahh? Its that scary scowl Hiashi-kun has, isn’t it? Don’t worry he was born that way.”

“Hiashi-kun?! Scowl??!” the older of the two sputtered, and just like that the bubble of fear popped. Yuriko couldn’t help but giggle. Hiashi smacked his brother in thee back of the head.

“If anything she’s scared of your terrible posture.”

Why would posture be scary?

“Such a scary face! Ne, Yuri-chan, maybe we should run away. He’ll turn into a monster if his face stays like that.” The next thing she knew she was being picked up.

What was happening?

“Oi, don’t man handle her like that!” Hiashi scolded. Oh man she would kill for some dango right now. This was entertaining.

“You’re just jealous because I’m going to be her favorite!” there was a challenge in in Hizashi’s tone. They glared at each other and she could all but feel the  electricity between them. It was safe to say she was not expecting this level of crazy from them. They were the sons of the head of the clan after all.

She waited a solid minute as they glared. They really weren’t going to stop until  someone blinked. Yuri started to get impatient. Hizashi had her balanced on his hip. Rolling her eyes she did the only thing she could think of. She tapped them both on the nose. Two blinks and she felt giddy.

“I win! You owe me dango!”

* * *

For the most part her cousin’s were pretty cool.She still had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that they were so closely related, but may it made enough sense. Mama was technically the heir to her clan right? Marrying the Hyuuga heir would have kept her in the spotlight, and marrying her to a random clan member wouldn’t keep her close enough. A second son wasn’t a surprising choice. Still, despite that closeness to the Main Branch she expected her cousins to jerks.

In fact she had this overwhelming fear that Hiashi was going to be super mean. Hanging at the edge of her mind was a memory she couldn't quite get a hold of. The more she pressed to remember the more a headache started to bloom behind her eyes, so she didn’t bother. She was already sore from training she did not want a migraine. Not that it mattered. Both of them were awesome. So much to the point that they took pity on her and instead of training they just relaxed under a tree.

“Hiashi-nii-san, your turn!” she’d gotten a second wind of energy and was bouncing up and down where she sat. The two had been taking turns giving her riddles to solve.

“No sooner spoken than broken, what is it?” Hizashi rolled his eyes. This could be considered training, but man was that riddle too easy.

“Silence! You could at least make it hard!” she giggled. The older of the two flicked her on the nose.

“Hmm, what happened to your stutter. Now you’re just being cheeky.” he said flatly. Yuri shot him a bright smile.

“I guess I’m not nervous anymore! Another, another!” she sang happily. The older twin shook his head and thought a bit longer.

“Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters.” he seemed pleased as my brow furrowed in thought. Whatever he was describing sounded scary. In her head a demon formed. A face with red eyes and a mouth sewn shut. Openings on its hands were filled with razors that threatened to chomp at her skin. A cold shiver ran down her spine

Get a grip.

Cries, flutters, bites, and mutters. Those were the key words. She couldn’t get caught up on the useless details. The cold, maybe? The cold bites. No, not quite. Besides the cold only bites when… the wind was blowing!

HA!

“Wind! You’re talking about wind!” she declared feeling confident.

“Bingo!” Hizashi patted her on the hair earning a glare from Hiashi.

* * *

 

“Bai, bai, Yuri-chan!”

“Goodbye, Yuriko-chan”

They were so incredibly different, and that made her happy. Smiling she turned and tackle hugged them. Otou-san looked a bit surprised by her actions, but he didn’t scold her. Hands stroked her hair. Hiashi gave her a solemn nod. Such a serious face. Hizashi gave her a carefree smile.

“You’ll come by and visit again, right?” she didn’t know people outside of her parents, and she enjoyed their company. Two nods had her more than happy. Letting go she gave a final wave and followed after her father.

“I take it you had fun?” he asked as she took hold of his hand. She grunted an affirmative as she yawned. Today had been a rollercoaster.

“You know who they are right?”

“I didn’t know we were related to Haruto-sama.” she said with a shrug. If she sat back and thought about it she didn’t like her uncle at all. There was a very vivid memory of him just watching as she writhed in pain from the brain scrambler. She didn’t like him, but the twins were cool as far as she was concerned.

“That’s right. He’s your Otou-san’s esteemed brother. He asked about you.” the words were crisp, like dry leaves crisp. Yuri was surprised that her uncle would even care about her existence. He hadn’t thus far. Why the sudden interest?

“Did I do something wrong?” the only thing her brain could latch onto was that she did something wrong.

“No, no. He was curious if you’d chosen a path for training.” his tone switched to the gentler tone he reserved for her and Mama. That eased her worries. “Your Mama talked to him not to long ago. The elders made the case to focus strictly on Clan training.”

Ah yes.

Be a good sequacious girl.

Listen to your betters.

She could already hear her Mama tearing into the old jerks.

“Your Mama and I want you to chose.” he took her hand and lifted her onto the wooden walkway that connected to their home.

“I hadn’t thought about it. There’s _so much_ cool stuff! I could try and be cool with swords! Oh, I could learn all  the elemental jutsus! That would be fun. I’d get really strong and no one would care the my ‘yakugan is weak.”

An exciting thought. She wanted to do EVERYTHING.

Her excitement seemed to turn her father’s mood. He was smiling at her now, the expressing creasing the corners of his pupiless eyes. Warmth started to radiate from her chest. She was glad he wasn’t stressed in this moment.

“No rush, you still have plenty of time. You don’t have to make a choice until you become a genin, okay?”

Yeah right, she was going to obsess over this.

“Okay! Whatever I do will definitely make you proud. Promise!” her words invoked something in him. While his smile didn’t falter there was something that flashed through his eyes. Sadness? Pride? She wasn’t sure, but it was gone in an instant.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Now, how about we go get some dango.”

“YES!”

  


 


	6. Chapter 6

_There's a vulture on my shoulder_   
_And he's telling me to give in_   
_Always hissing right in my ear_   
_Like it's coming from my own head_   
_It's got me mixed up, trying not to give up_   
_Tell me there's a way to get out of here_

* * *

Obstinate

 

Her Mama was the most bull headed, head strong, and a bunch of other words, Yuri had ever met! That wasn't saying a lot seeing as the only other women she'd really had any interaction with had been other Clan members. None of them held a candle to her mother's sheer  _recalcitrance._  

 

The word came from the depths of her mind. Another far off memory she couldn't quite grasp.

 

BUT IT FIT THE SITUATION.

 

"Slow, doooown." she whined tugging on her mother's hand as she barreled through the streets. Despite being very pregnant, the woman moved pretty quickly.

 

"I'm pregnant, Yuri, my legs aren't broken." her mother sighed. "besides, walking is supposed to help."

 

_30 minutes a day at minimum, she's right you know._

 

Shut up, brain. That's not even true.

 

Totally not true.

 

"Besides, your Otou-san is going to be quite excited to see us. I didn't just spend two hours making bentos for them to go uneaten."

 

First of all, it was more like an hour and a half.

 

SECOND of all, Yuri helped!

 

_Don't argue with pregnant._

 

Not that it would have mattered. Looming above her was the building that the ambassadors worked out of. In fact if she remembered correctly this was where visitors came to fill out paperwork. Hopefully her mother wouldn't cause to much of a raucous. Though, all she did was wave to the person at the front desk and start up the stairs.

 

"Wait, Hyuuga-san is with-"

 

An after thought that was to late. They were already at the top of the stairs. Two steps down the hall and a door swung open. Theatrical timing. in a flurry of moment the hall went from empty to way to crowded. Mama stopped and Yuri found herself pushed back. Something about the situation felt very off. 

 

"If you have any questions feel free to reach out to myself or any other ambassador." her father's voice was odd. Given the atmosphere she expected a fight to suddenly break out, but he was overly calm and crisp. She was reminded of the cold indifference of the Clan Elders.

 

A chill ran down her spine.

 

"Oh, you'll be hearing from us." not nearly as calm. There was aggression and an obvious threat in that voice.

 

Yuri tried to peer around her mother to see what was happening. A hand flat on her chest firmly pushed her into the wall to clear room for these nin to walk by. To the best of her ability her mother tried to obscure her from the foreign nin, but Yuri was able to catch a glimpse of them. Two men in red and brown. On their foreheads was a hitai-ate she didn't recognize. They both had scowls on their faces as they stormed by. She watched curiously as they descended the stairs. The one in front paused momentarily and looked over his shoulder making eye contact.

 

Yup, she was done being curious.

 

She caught his grin when she whipped her head away from him, and like that the ordeal was over.

 

"Botan?" her father's voice took on a far more relaxed quality. "What are you doing here? Is everything.."

 

"We brought bentos! Surprise!" Yuri completely jumped out from behind her mother presenting the carefully packaged meals."

* * *

 

"So Iwa is the reason my husband has been coming home so tired?" a innocuous question.

 

"I would prefer tired to being in that drab place. Tension or not, I've been able to be home more, and I'm thankful for that." he took a bite of the vegetable mix Yuri had tried very hard not to burn. "This is very good."

 

"I made it!" Yuri said happily, "What place is drab, Otou-san?"

 

"Iwagakure, there is a reason for the name. There are rocks everywhere." he poked her on the nose with his chopsticks.

 

"Wei!" she glared, "But why don't you go there anymore?"

 

"Yes, Hideki, _why_ did the Hokage pull all the ambassadors back to the village?"

 

There was something there. Yuri picked at her rice while her mind mulled over her father's silence. There was a look exchanged between her parents she didn't quite understand. Then it came to her all at once.  _War. War. War. War._ She felt like she'd been sucked into a dark hole. Pain flared behind her eyes. Panic made her want to scream. So many people were going to die. This was how.. the clouds.. the red clouds.. this is how that starts! Right? The orphans?

 

"Yuri!" she was aware of gravity shifting. Her mother was panicking." Hideki what's wrong with her?"

 

"I don't know, give me a second." chakra eased into her. "Her chakra's getting caught up in her head. We need to get her to the hosp-."

 

In a nauseating turn of events the pain receded. With it the memories were sucked away. There should have been relief, but Yuri was left feeling lost and empty. Color and shapes started to form as she became more and more aware of the world around her. Pieces started to click into place. She was on her back in the same room. Both parents were hovering worriedly about her. Byakugan active her father had a hand on her chest. He had a look of pure confusion on his face, while her mother just looked scared.

 

"Uhm.. what happened?" she tried to sit up, but her father wouldn't let her.

 

"You're nose started bleeding, honey. We tried talking to you and you weren't responding." her mother's voice wobbled and was pitched unnaturally high. "You can't do that again, okay?"

 

What did she do.

 

"Botan, I've never seen chakra just dissipate on its own like that, and she didn't do that herself. We should really take her to." her father started, but her mother cut him off.

 

"No. This is a first. it could be nothing." not really a good argument.

 

"But what if its  _not._ " her father slowly helped her to a sitting position. Her head swam a moment, but she felt more connected to the world then she did moments ago.

 

"They'll ask questions. This will give them a reason to assert more control." using the edge of her sleeve her mother wiped the blood from her nose, and whoa man was there a lot.

 

"You have to trust me, I wouldn't let that happen." he'd opted for trying to calm her mother instead of arguing.

 

Wait why were they arguing. Yuriko suddenly felt very anxious. The urge to vomit came back as what felt like insects started to crawl around in her stomach. They were fighting over her. She'd never heard her parents argue like this before. yes, she'd seen them both be stubborn and squabble. This? This was actual disagreement.

 

"I trust you, but I don't trust them. All it takes is them activating that seal and I'll lose both of you." there was so much resentment and anger layered in that statement. Her father didn't respond. The room just got really quiet for a long moment.

 

"I'm sorry, Hideki." the tension eased slightly. "I'm just scared."

 

"It's fine." Yuri frowned at the coldness. "How are you feeling, Yuri-chan?"

 

"I... I'm f..fine." she needed to fix them. She needed to get away from all of this. "C..c..can we g..g.o home?"

 

"Yes"

"Yes"

 

Well at least they could agree on that.

 

* * *

 

Needless to say she was watched like a hawk over the next few days. While her training with her father didn't end it was less physically intensive, and more focused on chakra control. After they'd gotten over the fight her parents had both decided the issue was control. How that made sense was a mystery to her. She wasn't even trying to use her chakra when everything happened. She was just trying to remember...

 

Remember what?

 

"Yuri, focus." her father chided as the leaf fell off her head. "That was only three minutes."

 

"Its, so boring though." she whined. That earned her a shake of the head.

 

"I thought you wanted to learn, how did you say it, 'really cool ninjustu'?" he hummed under his breath. "You have to learn the basics first."

 

"But I already know how to mold my chakra!" which was true. there was a level of chakra molding when it came to clan techniques.

 

"That's not enough, now get back to it." he used his listen-to-me-I'm-your-dad voice.

 

She sighed and put the leaf back on her forehead. She focused on the swirl of chakra in her body. Almost lazily she pulled it to her forehead to hold the green thing to her forehead. Man, she must have looked so dumb. Out of nowhere her father swatted her foot. She almost lost concentration, but managed to keep the leaf in place as she gave him the most appalled look she could must.

 

"Less then that." again with the scolding. "If you just pull masses of chakra like that there is no way you'll be able to sustain yourself. you'll burn out before you can do any kind of damage."

 

"Hai. Hai." she droned resisting the urge to argue with him. Slowly she thinned the chakra. Just the bare minimum to keep it on her forehead.

 

"There you go. It's all about control." he seemed to relax.

 

Ten minutes passed, and she was starting to feel confident. Boredom aside she wondered what else she could do with her chakra. You know, aside from make vegetation stick to her face. How soon before she could learn something useful.  What kind of jutsu would she even be able to do. Everyone did better with a certain element right?

 

"Otou-san?" that earned her another hummed response. "Do you use elemental jutsus?"

 

"Sometimes, why?"

 

"Just curious, what kind do you use?" from a genetic stand point if she figured out his and her mother's favored elements she could figure out her own.

 

"I use a lot of different kind. As a shinobi you'll have to be adaptable."

 

"Wei... I mean do you use fire or lightning?" she tried to express it with out the words.

 

"Oh, you want to know my affinity. Fire, most Hyuuga's have a fire affinity. I don't actually use a lot of elemental releases." he stated matter of factly. "That's more of your Mama's wheelhouse. She's quite talented with water, but given her father that's no surprise."

 

Second Hokage, right..

 

_No need for water._

_Great Sensor._

_Fast as fuck._

 

"And we're done." she was picked up from where she was sitting on the ground. She was aware of him being there but she could feel the pull of something in her mind. "Yuri... Yuriko. I need you to come back. There you go. Come on."

 

She blinked a few time and fought through the sluggishness. Shaking her head she wiped her nose to seem a few drops of blood. It was happening again. Tears started to gather in her eyes. Why did this keep happening. What was wrong with her.

 

"I'm sorry." she rubbed her eyes. he hugged her close. "I'm sorry I'm broken."

 

"Shh, you're not broken. We'll figure this out. We've just been training to hard. It's okay." he patted her on the back as she buried her face into his shirt. 

 

What if this effected her being able to go to the Academy.

No, she promised.

 

"I'm going to make you proud." came her muffled declaration. She wasn't going to let something like this get in her way. 

 

"I know, but lets take it one step at a time, okay?"

 

"Okay."

 

It took her a moment to stop the tears of frustration. He held her until she felt better. She really did love her father. When she thought about it he was a lot more confusing then her mother. Mama was brute force incarnate. She was loud and opinionated. She loved with her whole being. Her father on the other hand. One moment he could be entirely serious, but he didn't chided her in moments like this. He let her  _feel_ and didn't judge her for it. 

 

That was something she would remember.


End file.
